Camaro Counterpoint: A Mustang Man Fires Back

By: Bob Tasca II

My family sold and raced Ford Mustangs out of our Providence, Rhode Island, dealership, Tasca Ford. And it was my dad, Bob Tasca, who conceived the idea for the Ford Cobra Jet 428 Mustang. So we have a long history of tangling with Camaros.

We were naturally concerned when the Camaro debuted in 1967. It was a good-looking, great performing car – and a lot easier to work on than the Mustang. Plus, the Chevy small block ran the ass off the Ford 390 big block that debuted in the 1967 Mustang.

But we knew how to race. One night in 1968, we went to Jolly Charlies, a drive-in frequented by street racers in North Attlelboro, Mass. We ran a 1968 Mustang Cobra Jet in a couple match races on nearby roads against a ’55 Chevy, a Chevelle and a 427 Camaro – and beat them all.

Thing was, our Cobra Jet looked like a six cylinder. The Chevys, meanwhile, looked like street racers. So when the cops came along, they locked up all the Chevys and we were left to go whistling into the night. ***To see this article in its original format, view the pdf version of the Summer 2009 issue of Hagerty magazine.